Switched analog-digital architecture for wireless antenna arrays and methods for use thereof

ABSTRACT

Exemplary apparatus can be provided that can comprise a plurality of antennas; a plurality of conversion systems, each capable of accepting and/or producing one or more digital signals; a circuit (e.g., radio circuit) configured to couple the antennas to the conversion systems; and computer arrangement configurable to selectively control operation of the conversion systems according to one or more predetermined criteria. In some embodiments, the conversion systems can be configured to utilize different sampling rates and/or quantization resolutions and/or to accept and/or produce different numbers of digital signals. Exemplary conversion systems can be enabled/disabled such that one or more can operate simultaneously based on, e.g., subframe timing of received signal, predetermined schedule, power or energy of received signals, availability of reference signals, channel coherence time, and apparatus energy consumption. Further, exemplary methods and computer-readable media can be provided embodying one or more procedures the apparatus is configured to perform.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromU.S. patent application Ser. No. 62/143,865, filed on Apr. 7, 2015, theentire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present application relates generally to the field of wirelesscommunication systems, and more specifically to systems, methods,configurations and apparatus for improving the performance of wirelesscommunication transmitters and/or receivers utilizing arrays of antennaelements (e.g., an M-by-N antenna array, where M>1 and N>1) by providinga flexible analog-to-digital (e.g., for a receiver) and/ordigital-to-analog (e.g., for a transmitter) conversion architecture thatis switchable according to the operating requirements of the transmitterand/or receiver.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Wireless communication has evolved rapidly in the past decades as ademand for higher data rates and better quality of service has beencontinually required by a growing number of end users. Next-generationsystems are expected to operate at higher frequencies (e.g.,millimeter-wavelength or “mmW”) such as 5-300 GHz. Such systems are alsoexpected to utilize a variety of multi-antenna technology (e.g., antennaarrays) at the transmitter, the receiver, or both. In the field ofwireless communications, multi-antenna technology can comprise aplurality of antennas in combination with advanced signal processingtechniques (e.g., beamforming). Multi-antenna technology can be used toimprove various aspects of a communication system, including systemcapacity (e.g., more users per unit bandwidth per unit area), coverage(e.g., larger area for given bandwidth and number of users), andincreased per-user data rate (e.g., in a given bandwidth and area).Directive antennas can also ensure better wireless links as a mobile orfixed devices experiences a time-varying channel.

In order to achieve many of these exemplary performance improvements,however, multi-antenna mmW systems generally place difficult performancerequirements on the analog-to-digital (A/D, e.g., for receiver) and/ordigital-to-analog (D/A, e.g., for transmitter) converters employed inconjunction with the array of antennas. For example, A/D and D/A power(or energy) consumption generally increases in linear proportion withthe sampling rate and exponentially with respect to the quantizationresolution (e.g., number of bits per A/D or D/A sample, also referred toherein as “resolution” or “quantization rate”). Since mmW antenna arrayscan transmit and receive data across very wide bandwidths over largenumber of antennas, employing a high sampling rate, high-resolution A/Dand/or D/A on every antenna element may not be feasible from an energyconsumption or cost standpoint, particularly in mobile devices.Moreover, the complexity and energy consumption increases in proportionto both the operating frequency of the system and the number of antennasin the transmitting and/or receiving antenna arrays.

Thus, it can be beneficial to address at least some of the issues andproblems identified herein above.

SUMMARY OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Accordingly, to address at least some of such issues and/or problems,certain exemplary embodiments of apparatus, devices, methods, andcomputer-readable media according to the present disclosure can utilizea switchable architecture of multiple conversion systems with variousadvantageous characteristics that coupled to a plurality of antennas,e.g., an antenna array. For example, exemplary embodiments of methods,systems, devices, and computer-readable media according to the presentdisclosure can vastly out-perform conventional methods, techniques andsystems in various known applications, including exemplary applicationsdiscussed herein.

In certain exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, it ispossible to provide an apparatus or device comprising a plurality ofantennas; a plurality of conversion systems configured to at least oneof: accept one or more digital signals or produce one or more digitalsignals; a circuit configured to couple the antennas to the conversionsystems, wherein at least one of the antennas is coupled to more thanone of the conversion systems; and a computer arrangement configurableto selectively control operation of the conversion systems according toone or more predetermined criteria. In exemplary embodiments, a firstone of the conversion systems is configured to utilize at least one of asampling rate or a quantization resolution that is different than atleast one of a further sampling rate or a further quantizationresolution that a second one of the conversion systems is configured toutilize. In exemplary embodiments, a first one of the conversion systemsis configured to at least one of accept or produce a first number ofdigital signals that is different than a second number of digitalsignals that a second one of the conversion systems is configured to atleast one of accept or produce. In exemplary embodiments, the computerarrangement can enable and disable conversion systems such that one ormore can operate simultaneously based on factors such as, e.g., subframetiming of a received signal, a predetermined schedule, power or energyof a received signal, availability of reference signals, channelcoherence time, and energy consumption of the apparatus. Other exemplaryembodiments include methods and computer-readable media embodying one ormore of the procedures that the apparatus is configurable to perform.

In exemplary embodiments, the circuit comprises one or more splitters,the conversion systems comprise a plurality of receive conversionsystems, and each of the receive conversion systems comprises one ormore analog-to-digital converters. In other exemplary embodiments, thecircuit comprises one or more combiners, the conversion systems comprisea plurality of transmit conversion systems, and each of the transmitconversion systems comprises one or more digital-to-analog converters.

According to other exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, acomputer-implemented method can be provided for operating first andsecond conversion systems, with each conversion system being coupled toa plurality of antennas. The exemplary method can comprise selectivelyenabling the first conversion system and selectively disabling thesecond conversion system for a first duration; selectively disabling thefirst conversion system and selectively enabling the second conversionsystem for a second duration; configuring the first conversion system toproduce a digital signal comprising samples of a first resolution; andconfiguring the second conversion system to produce a plurality ofdigital signals comprising samples of a second resolution less than thefirst resolution. Non-transitory, computer-readable media comprisingcomputer-executable instructions corresponding to thecomputer-implemented method according to further exemplary embodimentsof the present disclosure can also be provided.

In other exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, acomputer-implemented method for operating first and second conversionsystems can be provided, with each conversion system being coupled to aplurality of antennas. The exemplary method can comprise: selectivelyenabling the first conversion system and selectively disabling thesecond conversion system for a first duration; selectively disabling thefirst conversion system and selectively enabling the second conversionsystem for a second duration; configuring the first conversion system toproduce a digital signal comprising samples of a first resolution; andconfiguring the second conversion system to produce a plurality ofdigital signals comprising samples of a second resolution less than thefirst resolution. Non-transitory, computer-readable media comprisingcomputer-executable instructions corresponding to thecomputer-implemented method according to further exemplary embodimentsof the present disclosure can also be provided.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the exemplaryembodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent upon readingthe following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments of thepresent disclosure, when taken in conjunction with the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure willbecome apparent from the following detailed description taken inconjunction with the accompanying Figures showing illustrativeembodiments, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary apparatus and/or deviceaccording to one or more exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIGS. 2a and 2b are block diagrams of exemplary receive and transmitconversion blocks, respectively, according to one or more embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary receive conversion system,according to one of more exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIGS. 4a and 4b are schematic diagrams of exemplary receive and transmitconversion systems, respectively, according to one or more embodimentsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of another exemplary receive conversionsystem, according to one or more exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 6 is an illustration of an exemplary signal framing structure forwhich one of more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can beutilized;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of yet another exemplary apparatus and/ordevice according to one or more exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of still another exemplary apparatus and/ordevice according to one or more exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a further exemplary device and/orapparatus, according to one or more exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method and/or procedure foroperating a switchable architecture comprising first and secondconversion systems (CS), according to one or more exemplary embodimentsof the present disclosure; and

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of another exemplary method and/or procedurefor operating a switchable architecture comprising first and secondconversion systems (CS), according to one or more exemplary embodimentsof the present disclosure.

While the present disclosure will now be described in detail withreference to the figures, it is done so in connection with theillustrative embodiments and is not limited by the particularembodiments illustrated in the figure(s) or in the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

An important characteristic of any multi-antenna configuration can be orinclude a distance between the different antenna elements due to therelation between the antenna distance and the mutual correlation betweenthe radio-channel fading experienced by the signals at the differentantennas. In general, the mutual correlation can be proportional to therelative spacing between the antennas. This exemplary spacing ordistance can be often expressed in terms of the wavelength, λ, of theradio signal to be transmitted and/or received (e.g., λ/4 spacing).Another way to achieve low mutual fading correlation can be to applydifferent polarization directions for the different antennas. Forexample, by using different polarization directions, the antennas can belocated relatively close to one another in a compact array while stillexperiencing low mutual fading correlation.

The availability of multiple antennas at the transmitter and/or thereceiver can be utilized in different ways to achieve different goals.For example, multiple antennas at the transmitter and/or the receivercan be used to provide additional diversity against radio channelfading. To achieve such diversity, the channels experienced by thedifferent antennas can/should have low mutual correlation, e.g., asufficiently large antenna spacing (“spatial diversity”) and/ordifferent polarization directions (“polarization diversity”).Historically, common multi-antenna configurations have implementedmultiple antennas at the receiver side, which is commonly referred to as“receive diversity.” Alternately and/or in addition, multiple antennascan be used in the transmitter to achieve transmit diversity. Forexample, a multi-antenna transmitter can achieve diversity even withoutknowledge of the channels between the transmitter and the receiver, solong as there is low mutual correlation between the respective channelsof the transmit antennas.

In various wireless communication systems, such as cellular systems,there can be fewer constraints on the complexity of the base stationcompared to the terminal or mobile unit. In such exemplary cases,transmit diversity can be feasible in the downlink (i.e., base stationto terminal) only and, in fact, can provide a means to simplify thereceiver in the terminal. In the uplink (i.e., terminal to base station)direction, due to a complexity of multiple transmit antennas, it can bepreferable to achieve diversity by using a single transmit antenna inthe terminal multiple receive antennas at the base station.

According to certain exemplary embodiments, multiple antennas at thetransmitter and/or the receiver can be used to shape or “form” theoverall antenna beam (e.g., transmit and/or receive beam, respectively)in a particular way, with the general goal being to improve the receivedsignal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) and, ultimately, systemcapacity and/or coverage. This can be accomplished, for example, bymaximizing the overall antenna gain in the direction of the targetreceiver or transmitter or by suppressing specific dominant interferingsignals. In general, beamforming can increase the signal strength at thereceiver in proportion to the number of transmit antennas. Beamformingcan be based either on high or low fading correlation between theantennas. High mutual antenna correlation can typically result from asmall distance between antennas in an array. In such exemplaryconditions, beamforming can boost the received signal strength but doesnot provide any diversity against radio-channel fading. On the otherhand, low mutual antenna correlation typically can result from either asufficiently large inter-antenna spacing or different polarizationdirections in the array. If some knowledge of the downlink channels ofthe different transmit antennas (e.g., the relative channel phases) isavailable at the transmitter, multiple transmit antennas with low mutualcorrelation can both provide diversity, and also shape the antenna beamin the direction of the target receiver and/or transmitter.

In other exemplary embodiments, multiple antennas at both thetransmitter and the receiver can further improve the SINR and/or achievean additional diversity against fading compared to only multiple receiveantennas or multiple transmit antennas. This can be useful in relativelypoor channels that are limited, for example, by interference and/ornoise (e.g., high user load or near cell edge). In relatively goodchannel conditions, however, the capacity of the channel becomessaturated such that further improving the SINR provides limitedincreases in capacity. In such exemplary cases, using multiple antennasat both the transmitter and receiver can be used to create multipleparallel communication “channels” over the radio interface. This canfacilitate a highly efficient utilization of both the available transmitpower and the available bandwidth resulting in, e.g., very high datarates within a limited bandwidth without a disproportionate degradationin coverage. For example, under certain exemplary conditions, thechannel capacity can increase linearly with the number of antennas andavoid saturation in the data capacity and/or rates. These techniques arecommonly referred to as “spatial multiplexing” or multiple-input,multiple-output (MIMO) antenna processing.

In order to achieve these performance gains, MIMO can provide that boththe transmitter and the receiver have knowledge of the channel from eachtransmit antenna to each receive antenna. According to particularexemplary embodiments, this can be done by the receiver measuring theamplitude and phase of a known transmitted data symbol (e.g., a pilotsymbol) and sending these measurements to the transmitter as “channelstate information” (CSI). CSI can include, for example, amplitude and/orphase of the channel at one or more frequencies, amplitude and/or phaseof time-domain multipath components of the signal via the channel,direction of arrival of multipath components of the signal via thechannel, and other metrics known by persons of ordinary skill. As usedherein, “multipath component” can describe, but is not limited to, anyresolvable signal component arriving at a receiver or incident on anantenna array at the receiver. For example, the multipath component canbe processed by the receiver at the radio frequency (RF), afterconversion to an intermediate frequency (IF), or after conversion tobaseband (i.e., zero or near-zero frequency). A plurality of themultipath components can comprise a main component of a transmittedsignal received via a primary, direct, or near-direct path from thetransmitter to the receiver, as well as one or more secondary componentsof the transmitted signal received via one or more secondary pathsinvolving reflection, diffraction, scattering, delay, attenuation,and/or phase shift of the transmitted signal. Persons of ordinary skillcan recognize that the number and characteristics of the multipathcomponents available to be processed by a receiver can depend on variousfactors including, e.g., transmit and receive antennas, channel and/orpropagation characteristics, transmission frequencies, signalbandwidths, etc.

In order to achieve many of these exemplary performance improvements andto mitigate many of these difficult operational conditions, however,multi-antenna mmW systems can generally place difficult performancerequirements on the analog-to-digital (A/D, e.g., for a receiver) and/ordigital-to-analog (D/A, e.g., for a transmitter) converters employed inconjunction with the array of antennas. As a consequence of thepractical limitations, three exemplary A/D and D/A architectures aredescribed for systems utilizing mmW antenna arrays.

In one such exemplary architecture, e.g., a low-resolution digitalarchitecture, the signal from (or to) each antenna element or elementcluster is processed by an individual A/D (or D/A) converter. Thisexemplary architecture can be flexible because it is able to support anarbitrary number of spatial streams and can also provide spatialdivision multiplexing to communicate to multiple devices simultaneously.However, this architecture can be prohibitive in energy consumption,particularly if the A/D and/or D/A converters are run at a high samplingrate and/or a high quantization resolution. Consequently, sucharchitectures typically are operated at lower sampling rate and/or lowerquantization resolution to compensate for the larger number of A/Dand/or D/A converters.

In another exemplary architecture, e.g., a high-resolution analogarchitecture, the analog signals from (or to) the antenna elements arefirst combined by an analog phased array, either at radio frequency (RF)or at intermediate frequency (IF, e.g., before or after the mixer). Thecombined signal can then be processed by a single A/D (or D/A)converter. Since this design requires only one A/D or D/A, it uses lessenergy compared to the fully digital approach and therefore can be runat a much higher quantization resolution. However, the analogarchitecture has the limitation that the phased array can be oriented inonly one direction at a time, thereby limiting the multiple access andsearching capabilities.

In a third exemplary architecture, e.g., a hybrid beamsteeringarchitecture, the collection of antenna elements is divided into aplurality of clusters. Signals from all antenna elements in a clusterare combined into a single analog signal, which is then individuallydigitized with a single A/D converter. In the transmit direction, asingle D/A generates a composite analog signal that is then split intomultiple signals, each fed to a particular antenna element of thecluster. This architecture is a compromise in both performance andenergy consumption between the high-resolution analog and thelow-resolution digital architectures. This architecture has beenadvocated for future millimeter wave wireless systems, as described by AGhosh, et. al., “Millimeter-Wave Enhanced Local Area Systems: AHigh-Data-Rate Approach for Future Wireless Networks,” IEEE JSAC, June2014. A related architecture is described by Alkhateeb et al., “HybridPrecoding for Millimeter Wave Cellular Systems with Partial ChannelKnowledge,” Proc. 2013 IEEE Workshop on Information Theory andApplications.

Neither the low-resolution digital architecture nor the high-resolutionanalog architecture can be optimal for all scenarios in mobile wireless(e.g., cellular) applications. Moreover, the hybrid beamstearingarchitecture is inherently suboptimal for certain scenarios, since thedetermination of how to cluster antenna elements and the number ofoperational A/D and/or D/A elements are not configurable. For example,when searching for other wireless peers or tracking of the signals fromthose peers, a low-resolution digital architecture may offer greatlyimproved performance over a high-resolution analog architecture becauseit allows all directions to be scanned at once. The low quantizationresolution on each antenna signal generally does not affect theperformance since the signals are limited by thermal noise andinterference rather than quantization noise. A similar situation canoccur for transmitting and receiving control signals or any othersignals that are designed for a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Oneexample has been described in Barati, et al, “Directional Cell Searchfor Millimeter Wave Cellular Systems”, Proc. IEEE SPAWC, 2014.

In contrast, during steady-state data reception and transmission, thehigh-resolution analog architecture can be preferable. In such exemplaryscenario, the direction of communication has generally already beenestablished (or at least is changing relatively slowly) and the array ofantenna elements can be oriented in a single direction. The highquantization resolution is useful to enable transmission and receptionat higher SNRs.

It is therefore desirable for a single architecture to support be ableto support multiple approaches for analog/digital conversion, dependingon the task required at a specific time with the ability to adjust thequantization rate or number of A/D and/or D/A converters. Exemplaryembodiments according to the present disclosure can provide suchadvantages via, e.g., a switchable architecture comprising a pluralityof conversion systems, each comprising one or more A/D and/or D/Aconverters. Operational exemplary parameters of the various conversionsystems (e.g., sampling rate, quantization resolution, on/off time,etc.) can be configured such that one of the plurality of conversionsystems can be preferable for each task required at a specific time. Forexample, one exemplary conversion system can use a high-resolutionanalog architecture, a second exemplary system can use a low-resolutiondigital architecture, and a third exemplary conversion system can use ahybrid beamforming architecture. Each exemplary conversion system can beseparately enabled or disabled, or be adaptively adjusted in groups oracross all the conversion systems, thereby providing various advantagesincluding a reduction of energy consumption and a higher signal to noiseratio.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an exemplary apparatus and/or deviceaccording to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Theexemplary apparatus shown in FIG. 1 can also include, e.g., an antennaarray 150 that can comprise a plurality of individual antenna elementsarranged in a particular pattern, such as, e.g., exemplary antennaelements 150 a to 150 i arranged in an exemplary 3-by-3 grid. In someexemplary embodiments, the antenna array 150 can be arranged as anM-by-N array of elements, where M>1 and N>1. In some exemplaryembodiments, the antenna elements 150 a to 150 i can be arranged in arectangular grid with equal spacing in one or both dimensions; however,other exemplary arrangements of the elements comprising the array arepossible and are within the scope of the present disclosure. Inaddition, each element of the antenna array 150 can have variousphysical forms including dipole, patch, cross dipole, inverted F,inverted L, helix, Yagi, rhombic, lens, and/or any another type ofantenna topology known to persons of ordinary skill. Elements 150 a to150 i can utilize various polarization patterns known to persons ofordinary skill, including horizontal, vertical, circular, and crosspolarization. In some exemplary embodiments, elements 150 a to 150 i —aswell as their arrangement in the array 150—can be designed or configuredespecially for the particular operating frequency (e.g., 5 GHz, 10 GHz,300 GHz, etc.) and device (e.g., a mobile terminal, cell phone, handset,laptop, tablet, access point, base station, etc.) in which the exemplaryapparatus of FIG. 1 can be used.

In some exemplary embodiments, the antenna elements 150 a to 150 i canbe used for receiving and/or transmitting signals in combination with,respectively, other receiving and transmitting circuity comprising theexemplary apparatus. The receiving circuity can comprise a plurality oflow-noise amplifiers (LNAs) 140 a through 140 i, each of which amplifiesa signal received from a corresponding antenna element 150 a through 150i. The exemplary apparatus can further comprise a plurality of receivegain/phase controls 130 a through 130 i, each of which can receive asignal output from a corresponding (LNAs) 140 a through 140 i. In someexemplary embodiments, the receive gain/phase control 130 can comprise areceiver beamformer that can be controlled by, e.g., one or moreprocessors 100. The outputs of the receive gain/phase controls 130 athrough 130 i are provided to a receiver block 110, which can comprise areceive conversion block 115, as described in more detail below. Theinputs to block 110 can be at a particular radio frequency (RF), inwhich case block 110 can comprise circuitry configurable to translatethe signals to an intermediate frequency (IF). Nevertheless, the skilledperson will readily comprehend that RF-to-IF conversion can alternatelyoccur prior to the signals reaching receiver block 110. As indicatedherein, references to “processor” should be understood to mean one ormore processors, including one or more computer processors.

The output of block 115 can comprise one or more streams of digitizedsamples that are provided to processor 100, which can provide one ormore receiver control signals for controlling various operationalaspects of, e.g., receive gain/phase controls 130 a through 130 i,receive conversion block 115, etc. Similarly, processor 100 can provideone or more streams of digitized samples to transmitter block 120, whichcan comprise a transmit conversion block 125. The output of block 120(e.g., the output of transmit conversion block 125) can comprise aplurality of analog signals, each of which can be at RF or IF, asdescribed above for the receiving circuitry. Each of the analog signalsoutput by transmitter block 120 can be applied to a correspondingtransmit gain/phase control 135 a through 135 i. Processor 100 can alsoprovide one or more transmitter control signals for controlling variousoperational aspects of, e.g., transmit gain/phase controls 135 a through135 i, transmit conversion block 125, etc. In some exemplary embodimentsof the present disclosure, transmit gain/phase control 135 can comprisea transmit beamformer that can be controlled by, e.g., processor 100.Each of the signals output by transmit gain/phase control 135 a through135 i can be applied to a corresponding transmit power amplifier (PA)145 a through 145 i. The amplified outputs of the PAs can be applied torespective corresponding antenna array elements 150 a through 150 i.

In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, processor 100can utilize a direction-of-arrival estimate to determine appropriateweights (e.g., W_(R) or W_(T)) to cause the antenna array 150 to produceone or more beam patterns corresponding to the estimated direction ofarrival. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, by applying the appropriateweights (e.g., W_(R) or W_(T)) to the signals received from the antennaelements 150 a through 150 i, the antenna array 150 can capture signalsand/or multipath components that are incident in the directions ofarrival corresponding to beams 160 a and 160 b while rejecting signalsand/or multipath components that are incident other directions ofarrival. Processor 100 can program and/or configure receive gain/phasecontrols 130 and/or transmit gain/phase controls 135 with weights (e.g.,W_(R) or W_(T), respectively) corresponding to the estimated directionof arrival. Processor 100 can determine weights using variousbeam-steering or beam-forming algorithms know to persons of ordinaryskill, including parametric algorithms and codebook-based algorithms. Invarious exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, receivegain/phase controls 130 and/or transmit gain/phase controls 135 cancomprise one or more programmable amplifiers that modifies the amplitudeand/or phase of the signals (e.g., at RF or IF) from the array elements150 a through 150 i. When no gain or phase adjustment of the signalsto/from array elements 150 a through 150 i is required, the processor100 can program the respective elements of controls 130 and/or 135 tounity gain and zero phase.

In various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, processor100 can comprise one or more general-purpose microprocessors, one ormore special-purpose microprocessors, one or more digital signalprocessors (DSPs), one or more application specific integrated circuits(ASICs), and/or one or more other types of computer arrangement known topersons of ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, processor 100 can beprogrammable and/or configured to perform the functions described hereinby executable software code stored in an accessible memory or other typeof computer-readable medium. In some exemplary embodiments of thepresent disclosure, memory and/or other computer-readable medium (e.g.,including RAM, ROM, memory stick, floppy drive, memory card, etc.) canbe permanently programmed and/or configured with such executablesoftware code, while in other exemplary embodiments, the memory orcomputer-readable medium can be capable of having the executablesoftware code downloaded and/or configured.

FIG. 2a shows a block diagram of an exemplary receive conversion block215, according to one or more exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In some exemplary embodiments, receive conversion block 215can be utilized as receive conversion block 115 in FIG. 1. Block 215 canreceive a plurality of input signals 202 a through 202 i, which in someembodiments can correspond to signals output by receive gain/phasecontrols 130 a through 130 i, respectively, in FIG. 1. Each of signals202 a through 202 i is applied to a corresponding splitter block 203 athrough 203 i of splitter 203. Each splitter block can split thecorresponding input signal into k output signals, which in someexemplary embodiments can be substantially similar in power or energylevel. For example, splitter block 203 a can split signal 202 a intosignals 204 aa through 204 ak, each of which is input to a correspondingconversion system (CS) 205 a through 205 k. As shown in FIG. 2a , eachCS 205 a through 205 k can receive a signal from each of the splitterblocks 203 a through 203 i; for example, CS 205 k can receive signals204 ak through 204 ik. There can be a total of i times k signals betweensplitter 203 and the conversion systems.

In some exemplary embodiments, a particular splitter can provide one ormore of the k output signals via an output port that is substantiallyisolated from one or more other signals output by that particularsplitter (e.g., by one or more other output ports), such that any powerreflected from the terminations of the one or more signals (e.g., signal204 aa at CS 205 a) does not affect the one or more other signals outputby that splitter (e.g., signals 204 ab through 204 ak). In otherexemplary embodiments, one or more of the k output signals from aparticular splitter can be non-isolated from one or more other signalsoutput by that splitter, e.g., a single splitter output port can provideinput signals to a plurality of CS.

Each CS 205 a through 205 k can output a corresponding digital samplestream 206 a through 206 k, respectively. Each sample stream cancomprise a plurality of individual streams of samples, as described inmore detail below. The outputs 206 a through 206 k can be provided, forexample, to a digital processor such as processor 100 shown in FIG. 1.In addition, each CS 205 a through 205 k receives one or morecorresponding control signals 207 a through 207 k respectively, that canbe utilized to control various operational parameters of the respectiveCS block including, e.g., independently enabling and/or disabling eachCS block. Such exemplary control signals can be provided, e.g., by adigital processor such as processor 100.

FIG. 2b shows a block diagram of an exemplary transmit conversion block265, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Insome exemplary embodiments, transmit conversion block 265 can beutilized as transmit conversion block 125 in FIG. 1. Each transmitconversion system (CS) 255 a through 255 k can receive a correspondingdigital sample stream 256 a through 256 k, respectively. Each samplestream can comprise one or more individual streams of samples, asdescribed in more detail below. The inputs 256 a through 256 k can beprovided, for example, by a digital processor such as processor 100shown in FIG. 1. In addition, each CS 255 a through 255 k can receiveone or more corresponding control signals 257 a through 257 k,respectively, that can be utilized to control various operationalparameters of the respective CS block including, e.g., independentlyenabling and/or disabling each CS block. Such control signals can beprovided, e.g., by a digital processor such as processor 100.

As shown in FIG. 2b , each CS 255 a through 255 k can provide a signalto each of the combiner blocks 253 a through 253 i, such that there area total of i times k signals between combiner 253 and the conversionsystems 255. For example, CS 255 a can provide signals 254 aa through254 ia, CS 255 b can provide signals 254 ab through 254 ib, etc. [Do wewant to say explicitly that overlaps in signals are allowed?] Viewedanother way, combiner block 253 a can receive signals 254 aa through 254ak, combiner block 253 b can receive signals 254 ba through 254 bk, etc.Each of the combiner blocks (e.g., 253 a) can combine all received inputsignals (e.g., 254 aa through 254 ak) and/or output a combined signal(e.g., 252 a).

In some exemplary embodiments, a particular CS can provide one or moreof the i output signals via an output port that is substantiallyisolated from one or more other signals output by that particular CS(e.g., by one or more other output ports), such that any power reflectedfrom the terminations of one signal (e.g., signal 254 aa at combiner 253a) does not affect the other signals output by that CS (e.g., signals254 ba through 254 ia). In other exemplary embodiments, one or more ofthe i output signals from a particular CS can be non-isolated from oneor more other signals output by that CS, e.g., a single CS output portcan provide input signals to a plurality of combiners.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a receive conversion system 305 a,according to one of more exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In some embodiments, receive conversion system 305 a can beutilized as receive conversion system 205 a in FIG. 2a . Block 305 a canreceive a plurality of input signals 304 aa through 304 ia, which insome exemplary embodiments can correspond to input signals 204 aathrough 204 ia shown in FIG. 2a . Each of signals 304 aa through 304 iacan be applied to a corresponding A/D block 315 a through 315 i, whichcan output respective digital data streams 306 aa through 306 ai. Insome exemplary embodiments, each of digital data streams 306 aa through306 ai can comprise samples of a signal received by particular antennaelements, e.g., elements 150 a through 150 i in FIG. 1. In someexemplary embodiments, digital data streams 306 aa through 306 ai cancomprise data stream 206 a shown in FIG. 2a . In addition, receiveconversion system 305 a can receive control signals 307 aa through 307ai, each of which can be applied to a corresponding A/D block 315 athrough 315 i. Such control signals can be provided, e.g., by a digitalprocessor such as processor 100, and can be utilized to control variousoperational parameters of the respective CS block such as sampling rate,quantization resolution, enable/disable, etc.

FIG. 4a shows a schematic diagram of a receive conversion system 405 b,according to one of more exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In some exemplary embodiments, receive conversion system 405b can be utilized as receive conversion system 205 b in FIG. 2a . Block405 b can receive a plurality of input signals 404 ab through 404 ib,which in some exemplary embodiments can correspond to input signals 204ab through 204 ib shown in FIG. 2a . Each of signals 404 ab through 404ib can be applied to a combiner 410, which can output a combination ofsignals 404 ab through 404 ib to A/D block 415. Block 415 can output asignal digital data stream 406 b comprising samples of a combined signalreceived by all antenna elements, e.g., elements 150 a through 150 i inFIG. 1. In some exemplary embodiments, digital data stream 406 b cancomprise data stream 206 b shown in FIG. 2a . In addition, receiveconversion system 405 a can receive control signal 407 b that can beutilized to control various operational parameters of A/D block 415 suchas sampling rate, quantization resolution, power on/off, etc. Suchcontrol signals can be provided, e.g., by a digital processor, such asprocessor 100.

FIG. 4b shows a schematic diagram of a transmit conversion system (TCS)455 b, according to one of more exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In some exemplary embodiments, transmit conversion system455 b can be utilized as transmit conversion system 255 b in FIG. 2b .TCS 455 b can receive a digital sample stream 456 b provided, forexample, by a digital processor such as processor 100 shown in FIG. 1.In addition, TCS 455 b can receive one or more control signals 457 bthat, in some exemplary embodiments, can be utilized to controloperational parameters of D/A block 465 such as sampling rate,quantization resolution, power on/off, etc. Such control signals can beprovided, e.g., by a digital processor such as processor 100. The analogoutput signal from D/A block 465 can be applied to a splitter 460, whichsplits the input signal into i output signals 454 ab through 454 ib,which in some exemplary embodiments can be substantially similar inpower or energy level. In some embodiments, output signals 454 abthrough 454 ib can correspond to output signals 254 ab through 254 ibshown in FIG. 2 b.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a receive conversion system 505 c,according to one of more exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In some exemplary embodiments, receive conversion system 505c can be utilized as receive conversion system 205 c in FIG. 2a . Block505 c can receive a plurality of input signals 504 ac through 504 ic,which in some exemplary embodiments can correspond to input signals 204ac through 204 ic shown in FIG. 2a . Each of signals 504 ac through 504ic can be applied to one of combiners 510 a through 510 c. In someexemplary embodiments, equal-size subsets of signals 504 ac through 504ic can be applied to each of combiners 510 a through 510 c. In otherexemplary embodiments, any of combiners 510 a through 510 c can receivea different number of signals than one or more others of combiners 510 athrough 510 c. Although three combiners 510 a through 510 c are shown inFIG. 5, this number is merely exemplary and the skilled person willrecognize that various combinations of combiners and signals percombiner can be utilized.

Each of combiners 510 a through 510 c can output a combination of itsinput signals to a corresponding A/D block 515 a through 515 c. Each ofthese A/D blocks (e.g., 515 a) can output a corresponding digital datastream (e.g. 506 ca) comprising samples of the combined input signals(e.g., 504 ac through 504 cc). In some exemplary embodiments, eachcombined input signal can correspond to signals received bycorresponding antenna array elements (e.g., 150 a through 150 c in FIG.1). In some exemplary embodiments, digital data streams 506 ca through506 cc can comprise data stream 206 c shown in FIG. 2a . In addition,receive conversion system 505 c can receive control signals 507 cathrough 507 cc, each of which can be applied to a corresponding A/Dblock 515 a through 515 c. Such control signals can be provided, e.g.,by a digital processor such as processor 100 and can be utilized tocontrol various operational parameters of the respective A/D blocks suchas sampling rate, quantization resolution, power on/off, etc.

The capabilities of the exemplary devices and/or circuits describedherein with respect to FIGS. 1 through 5 can be applied, for example, ina wireless system to exploit different gain patterns and/or differentantenna elements for use at different times. For example, one of theconversion systems (CS) can be configured as a high-resolution analog CS(e.g., CS 405 b shown in FIG. 4a ) while another of the CS can beconfigured as a low-resolution, fully-digital CS (e.g., CS 305 a shownin FIG. 3). The low-resolution, fully-digital CS can be enabled duringcell search and determining various directions of arrival, while thehigh-resolution analog CS could be enabled during steady-state datatransmission and/or reception after the directions of communication areknown and can be employed, e.g., for beamforming.

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary signal framing structure for which theswitchable-CS architecture described above can be utilized according toan exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Transmissions (e.g.,from a base station to a mobile station) can be organized in repeatingtime intervals called subframes (e.g., subframe 601), which in someembodiments can be 1-2 milliseconds (ms) in duration. Each subframe 601can be divided into intervals (e.g., slots) with known locationsrelative to the beginning of the subframe. Such slots can comprisevarious data and control signals such as synchronization slot 602,control slot 603 (which can comprise, e.g. ACK/NAK, CQI, channelassignments, etc.), and data slots 604. A device comprising theswitchable CS architecture (e.g., the device shown in FIG. 1) can enableand/or facilitate a low-resolution CS (e.g., CS 305 a shown in FIG. 3)during the period 605 (e.g., synchronization slot 602 and control slot603) and a high-resolution CS (e.g., CS 405 b shown in

FIG. 4a ) during interval 606 comprising the data slots 604. The devicecan enable/disable the respective CS based on the timing relative to thebeginning of a subframe 601.

FIG. 10 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method and/or procedure foroperating a switchable architecture comprising first and secondconversion systems (CS), according to one or more exemplary embodimentsof the present disclosure. The exemplary method and/or procedure of FIG.10 can be used in connection with the exemplary signal framing structureshown in FIG. 6 and with one or more of the various switchable-CSarchitecture embodiments described hereinabove. Although the exemplarymethod and/or procedure is illustrated in FIG. 10 by blocks in aparticular order, this order is exemplary and the functionscorresponding to the blocks may be performed in different orders, andcan be combined and/or divided into blocks having differentfunctionality than shown in FIG. 10.

For example, beginning in block 1000, a first duration, a secondduration, and a periodicity or period of the first and second durationsis determined based on predetermined characteristics of a subframe, suchas the exemplary subframe shown in FIG. 6. For example, the first andsecond durations can be determined based on slots with known durationsand locations (e.g., timing) relative to the beginning of the subframe.In addition, the periodicity can be determined based on an integermultiple (e.g., one or higher) of the subframe period. In otherexemplary embodiments, however, one or more of the first duration,second duration, and periodicity can be input to the exemplary methodrather than being determined in block 1000.

In block 1010, the first CS can be enabled for a first duration and thesecond CS can be disabled for the first duration. In block 1020, thefirst CS can be configured to produce samples of a signal received bythe antenna system during this first duration. These samples produced bythe first CS can have a first resolution. In block 1030, the second CSis enabled for a second duration and the first CS is disabled for thesecond duration. In block 1040, the second CS can be configured toproduce samples of a signal received by the antenna system during thissecond duration. These samples produced by the second CS can have asecond resolution that can be less than the first resolution. In block1050, the timing of the next subframe is determined based on periodicityand durations determined in block 1000. Optionally, blocks 1010-1050 canbe repeated for one or more additional subframes. According to otherexemplary embodiments of the exemplary method shown in FIG. 10, it ispossible to operate the exemplary method on a single subframe (e.g.,without block 1050).

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of an exemplary receiver deviceincorporating other exemplary embodiments of the switchable CSarchitecture of the present disclosure. The receiver device shown inFIG. 7 can be employed, e.g., for periodic coarse-fine channel tracking.Similar to the manner shown and described above with reference to FIG.1, receive signals from a plurality of antennas 701 are applied torespective LNAs 702, the outputs of which are applied to splitter 703.The outputs of splitter 703 are applied to two conversion systems: alower-resolution digital CS 704 (e.g., CS 305 a shown in FIG. 3) and ahigher-resolution CS 705. Depending on embodiment, CS 705 can comprisean analog CS (e.g., CS 405 b shown in FIG. 4a ) or a hybrid CS (e.g., CS505 c shown in FIG. 5).

In some exemplary embodiments, lower-resolution digital CS 704 can beprovided for coarse channel tracking since it can provide noisymeasurements across all antenna elements. In such exemplary embodiments,coarse channel tracking scheduler 709 periodically can enable and/orfacilitate the higher-resolution CS 705 using, e.g., an enable command706. The periodicity and duration of time can be selected based on theavailable power, channel coherence time, and/or the presence of suitablereference signals (e.g., common reference signals, user-specificsignals, etc.). Received data 710 from low-resolution CS 704 can beapplied to a channel and rank estimator 711, which can be implementedusing various combinations of hardware, software, firmware, programmablelogic, etc. as known by persons of ordinary skill. Moreover, proceduresfor selection of times for channel estimation and for estimating thechannel from the received data are well-known by persons of ordinaryskill, e.g., in the context of 3GPP LTE receivers.

Once the channel has been estimated, beamforming weights 708 and numberof streams indicator 707 can be applied to higher-resolution CS 705 bychannel and rank estimator 711, and lower-resolution CS 704 can bedisabled. Moreover, to the extent that one or more of the antennas usedfor channel and rank estimation are not used for steady-state datareception, such antennas can also be disabled during at least some ofthe time CS 704 is disabled. Employing a programmable number of streamsin this manner can, e.g., save power when the channel rank is notsufficient to support higher numbers of spatial degrees of freedom. Insome embodiments, statistics 712 (e.g., rank information, SNR, etc.) canbe fed back to a transmitter, e.g., using a CQI-RI report as describedin 3GPP standards.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of an exemplary receiver deviceincorporating other exemplary embodiments of the switchable CSarchitecture of the present disclosure. The receiver device shown inFIG. 8 can be employed, e.g., for interference cancellation. Similar tothe manner shown and described above with reference to FIG. 1, receivedsignals from a plurality of antennas 801 are applied to respective LNAs802, the outputs of which are applied to splitter 803. The outputs ofsplitter 803 are applied to two conversion systems: a lower-resolutiondigital CS 804 (e.g., CS 305 a shown in FIG. 3) and a higher-resolutionCS 805. Depending on embodiment, CS 805 can comprise an analog CS (e.g.,CS 405 b shown in FIG. 4a ) or a hybrid CS (e.g., CS 505 c shown in FIG.5). Lower-resolution CS 804 can output data on multiple streams 806,while higher-resolution CS 805 can output samples on one or a smallnumber of streams 807. Joint processing block 808 can combine and/orutilize signals from both CS 804 and CS 805. For example, block 808 canbe configured to detect an interfering signal using the output of CS 804and then subtract, cancel, and/or remove the detected interfering signalfrom the output of CS 805, thereby determining a desired signal.

FIG. 11 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method and/or procedure foroperating a switchable architecture according to one or more exemplaryembdoiemnst of the present disclosure. For example, the exemplarymethod/procedure can comprise and/or utilize first and second conversionsystems (CS). The exemplary method and/or procedure of FIG. 11 can beused in connection with the exemplary signal framing structure shown inFIG. 6 and with one or more of the various switchable-CS architectureembodiments described herein, including the exemplary switchable-CSarchitecture shown in FIG. 8. Although the exemplary method and/orprocedure is illustrated in FIG. 11 by blocks in a particular order,this order is exemplary and the functions corresponding to the blocksmay be performed in different orders, and can be combined and/or dividedinto blocks having different functionality than shown in FIG. 11.

For example, beginning in block 1100, a first duration, a secondduration, and a periodicity or period of the first and second durationsis determined based on predetermined characteristics of a subframe, suchas the subframe shown in FIG. 6. These parameters can be determined in amanner similar to that described above with respect to FIG. 10. In otherexemplary embodiments, however, one or more of the first duration,second duration, and periodicity can be input to the exemplary methodrather than being determined in block 1100. In block 1110, the first CSis enabled and the second CS is disabled for the first duration. Thefirst CS can be enabled, for example, to produce samples of a signalreceived by an antenna system during the first duration. In block 1120,interference is detected based on signals produced by the first CSduring the first duration. In block 1130, the second CS is enabled andthe first CS is disabled for the second duration. The second CS can beenabled, for example, to produce samples of a signal received by anantenna system during the second duration. In block 1140, a desiredsignal is determined based on signals received during the secondduration and the interference determined based on the first duration. Inblock 1150, the timing of the next subframe is determined based onperiodicity and durations determined in block 1100. Optionally, blocks1110-1150 can be repeated for one or more additional subframes.According to other exemplary embodiments of the exemplary method shownin FIG. 11, such exemplary method can operate on a single subframe(e.g., without block 1150).

Although FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary receiver device incorporating aswitchable CS architecture according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure, analogous architectures and procedures can be utilized in atransmitter device. For example, a signal requiring high SNR (e.g., dueto the use of a higher-order modulation and coding scheme (MCS)) can betransmitted simultaneously as one or more low-rate signals (e.g.,control channels) that do not require high SNR (e.g., due to use oflower-order MCS). Some exemplary scenarios can require transmitting thelow-rate, low-SNR signals in one or more different directions than thehigh-SNR signals. In such scenarios, a first conversion system (e.g., alower-resolution system) can be employed to generate the low-SNRsignal(s) and a second conversion system (e.g., a higher-resolutionsystem such as CS 455 b shown in FIG. 4b ) can be employed to generatethe high-SNR signal(s), all of which can be transmitted using theplurality of antennas, e.g., configured as an antenna array.

Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can also beapplied to directional beamforming in mmW systems using some or all ofthe available antennas, including beam nulling (e.g., to lower orminimize interference and/or to maximize gain in a particulardirection). Such exemplary embodiments can be adapted, configured,and/or configured to reduce A/D power consumption or resolutionrequirements, e.g., sigma-delta or other efficient and low resolutionA/D architecture known to persons of ordinary skill. Such embodimentscan be utilized in conjunction with memories that provide faster datathroughput, thereby enabling and/or facilitating use with mmW systemshaving much greater bandwidth and/or data capacity compared to today'swireless systems.

For example, exemplary embodiments can be configured to oversamplespatially, using more antenna elements than would be required by aNyquist criterion for a particular spatial resolution, antenna gain,and/or directivity. Exemplary techniques are described in, e.g., S. V.Hum, et al., “UWB Beamforming using 2D Beam Digital Filters”, IEEETransactions on Antennas and Propagation, Vol. 57, No. 3, March 2009,pp. 804-807 and A. Madanayake, et al., “2D-IIR Time-Delay-Sum LinearAperture Arrays”, IEEE Antennas and Propagation Letters (AWPL), 2014.Moreover, although the above exemplary techniques are related totwo-dimensional arrays, exemplary embodiments can also be applied tospatial oversampling with three-dimensional arrays. Such exemplaryembodiments can utilize additional receiver chains and/or circuitry inconjunction with the additional antenna elements, selectively utilizing(e.g., switching) various receive circuitry as required. These exemplaryembodiments utilizing spatial oversampling coupled with additionalreceive circuitry can be combined with conversion systems employing A/Ds(or D/As) with lower resolution (e.g., fewer bits) and/or operating atfaster sampling rates. In such embodiments, the conversion systems canbe configured according to factors including spatial resolution, samplerate, sample resolution, and power consumption. To summarize, suchexemplary embodiments can enable and/or facilitate much greater samplerates (tens of GHz) for much wider bandwidth channels that exist today.

Although various embodiments are described herein above in terms ofmethods, apparatus, devices, computer-readable medium and receivers, theperson of ordinary skill will readily comprehend that such methods canbe embodied by various combinations of hardware and software in varioussystems, communication devices, computing devices, control devices,apparatuses, non-transitory computer-readable media, etc. FIG. 9 shows ablock diagram of an exemplary device or apparatus utilizing certainexemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, including execution ofinstructions on a computer-readable medium comprising one or moreexemplary methods for configuring and/or utilizing a plurality oftransmit and/or receive conversion systems according to one or more ofthe embodiments described herein above. Exemplary device 900 cancomprise a processor 910 that can be operably connected to a programmemory 920 and/or a data memory 930 via a bus 970 that can compriseparallel address and data buses, serial ports, or other methods and/orstructures known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Program memory920 comprises software code or program executed by processor 910 thatfacilitates, causes and/or programs exemplary device 900 to communicateusing one or more wired or wireless communication protocols, includingone or more wireless communication protocols standardized by 3GPP,3GPP2, or IEEE, such as those commonly known as LTE, UMTS, HSPA, GSM,GPRS, EDGE, 1×RTT, CDMA2000, 802.11 WiFi standards, HDMI, USB, Firewire,etc., or any other current or future protocols that can be utilized inconjunction with radio transceiver 940, user interface 950, and/or hostinterface 960.

Program memory 920 can also comprises software code executed byprocessor 910 to control the functions of device 900, includingconfiguring and controlling various components such as radio transceiver940, user interface 950, and/or host interface 960. Program memory 920can also comprise an application program for estimating thedirection-of-arrival of an incident signal and/or adjusting the spatialselectivity of a receiver antenna array in accordance with the estimateddirection of arrival, according to one or more of the embodimentsdescribed herein above. Such software code can be specified or writtenusing any known or future developed programming language, such as e.g.Java, C++, C, Objective C, HTML, XHTML, machine code, and Assembler, aslong as the desired functionality, e.g., as defined by the implementedmethod steps, is preserved. In addition or alternately, program memory920 can comprise an external storage arrangement (not shown) remote fromdevice 900, from which the instructions can be downloaded into programmemory 920 located within or removably coupled to device 900, so as toenable execution of such instructions.

Data memory 930 can comprise memory area for processor 910 to storevariables used in protocols, configuration, control, and other functionsof device 900, including estimating the direction-of-arrival of anincident signal and/or adjusting the spatial selectivity of a receiverantenna array in accordance with the estimated direction of arrival,according to one or more of the embodiments described herein above.Moreover, program memory 920 and/or data memory 930 can comprisenon-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory), volatile memory (e.g., staticor dynamic RAM), or a combination thereof. Furthermore, data memory 930can comprise a memory slot by which removable memory cards in one ormore formats (e.g., SD Card, Memory Stick, Compact Flash, etc.) can beinserted and removed. Persons of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize that processor 910 can comprise multiple individual processors(including, e.g., multi-core processors), each of which implements aportion of the functionality described above. In such cases, multipleindividual processors can be commonly connected to program memory 920and data memory 930 or individually connected to multiple individualprogram memories and or data memories. More generally, persons ofordinary skill in the art will recognize that various protocols andother functions of device 900 can be implemented in many differentcomputer arrangements comprising different combinations of hardware andsoftware including, but not limited to, application processors, signalprocessors, general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, ASICs,fixed and/or programmable digital circuitry, analog baseband circuitry,radio-frequency circuitry, software, firmware, and middleware.

A radio transceiver 940 can comprise radio-frequency transmitter and/orreceiver functionality that facilitates the device 900 to communicatewith other equipment supporting like wireless communication standardsand/or protocols. In some exemplary embodiments, the radio transceiver940 includes a transmitter and a receiver that enable device 900 tocommunicate with various Fifth-Generation (5G) networks according tovarious protocols and/or methods proposed for standardization by 3GPPand/or other standards bodies. In some exemplary embodiments, the radiotransceiver 940 can comprise some or all of the functionality of thereceiver shown in and described above with reference to FIG. 1.

In some exemplary embodiments, the radio transceiver 940 includes an LTEtransmitter and receiver that can facilitate the device 900 tocommunicate with various Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks (also knownas “4G”) according to standards promulgated by 3GPP. In some exemplaryembodiments of the present disclosure, the radio transceiver 940includes circuitry, firmware, etc. necessary for the device 900 tocommunicate with various LTE, UMTS, and/or GSM/EDGE networks, alsoaccording to 3GPP standards. In some exemplary embodiments of thepresent disclosure, radio transceiver 940 includes circuitry, firmware,etc. necessary for the device 900 to communicate with various CDMA2000networks, according to 3GPP2 standards. In some exemplary embodiments ofthe present disclosure, the radio transceiver 940 is capable ofcommunicating using radio technologies that operate in unlicensedfrequency bands, such as IEEE 802.11 WiFi that operates usingfrequencies in the regions of 2.4, 5.6, and/or 60 GHz. In some exemplaryembodiments of the present disclosure, radio transceiver 940 cancomprise a transceiver that is capable of wired communication, such asby using IEEE 802.3 Ethernet technology. The functionality particular toeach of these embodiments can be coupled with or controlled by othercircuitry in the device 900, such as the processor 910 executingprotocol program code stored in program memory 920.

User interface 950 can take various forms depending on the particularembodiment of the device 900. In some exemplary embodiments of thepresent disclosure, the user interface 950 can comprise a microphone, aloudspeaker, slidable buttons, depressable buttons, a display, atouchscreen display, a mechanical or virtual keypad, a mechanical orvirtual keyboard, and/or any other user-interface features commonlyfound on mobile phones. In other embodiments, the device 900 cancomprise a tablet computing device (such as an iPad® sold by Apple,Inc.) including a larger touchscreen display. In such embodiments, oneor more of the mechanical features of the user interface 950 can bereplaced by comparable or functionally equivalent virtual user interfacefeatures (e.g., virtual keypad, virtual buttons, etc.) implemented usingthe touchscreen display, as familiar to persons of ordinary skill in theart. In other embodiments, the device 900 can be a digital computingdevice, such as a laptop computer, desktop computer, workstation, etc.that comprises a mechanical keyboard that can be integrated, detached,or detachable depending on the particular exemplary embodiment. Such adigital computing device can also comprise a touch screen display. Manyexemplary embodiments of the device 900 having a touch screen displayare capable of receiving user inputs, such as inputs related todetermining a direction of arrival or configuring an antenna array, asdescribed herein or otherwise known to persons of ordinary skill in theart.

In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, device 900 cancomprise an orientation sensor, which can be used in various ways byfeatures and functions of device 900. For example, the device 900 canuse outputs of the orientation sensor to determine when a user haschanged the physical orientation of the device 900's touch screendisplay. An indication signal from the orientation sensor can beavailable to any application program executing on the device 900, suchthat an application program can change the orientation of a screendisplay (e.g., from portrait to landscape) automatically when theindication signal indicates an approximate 90-degree change in physicalorientation of the device. In this exemplary manner, the applicationprogram can maintain the screen display in a manner that is readable bythe user, regardless of the physical orientation of the device. Inaddition, the output of the orientation sensor can be used inconjunction with various exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure, as discussed in more detail above with reference to FIG. 1.

A control interface 960 of the device 900 can take various formsdepending on the particular exemplary embodiment of device 900 and ofthe particular interface requirements of other devices that the device900 is intended to communicate with and/or control. For example, thecontrol interface 960 can comprise an RS-232 interface, an RS-485interface, a USB interface, an HDMI interface, a Bluetooth interface, anIEEE 1394 (“Firewire”) interface, an I²C interface, a PCMCIA interface,or the like. In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure,control interface 960 can comprise an IEEE 802.3 Ethernet interface suchas described above. In some exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the control interface 960 can comprise analog interfacecircuitry including, for example, one or more digital-to-analog (D/A)and/or analog-to-digital (A/D) converters.

Persons of ordinary skill in the art can recognize the above list offeatures, interfaces, and radio-frequency communication standards ismerely exemplary, and not limiting to the scope of the presentdisclosure. In other words, the device 900 can comprise morefunctionality than is shown in FIG. 9 including, for example, a videoand/or still-image camera, microphone, media player and/or recorder,etc. Moreover, radio transceiver 940 can include circuitry necessary tocommunicate using additional radio-frequency communication standardsincluding Bluetooth, GPS, and/or others. Moreover, the processor 910 canexecute software code stored in the program memory 920 to control suchadditional functionality. For example, directional velocity and/orposition estimates output from a GPS receiver can be available to anyapplication program executing on the device 900, including variousexemplary methods and/or computer-readable media according to variousexemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

As described herein, device and/or apparatus can be represented by asemiconductor chip, a chipset, or a (hardware) module comprising suchchip or chipset; this, however, does not exclude the possibility that afunctionality of a device or apparatus, instead of being hardwareimplemented, be implemented as a software module such as a computerprogram or a computer program product comprising executable softwarecode portions for execution or being run on a processor. Furthermore,functionality of a device or apparatus can be implemented by anycombination of hardware and software. A device or apparatus can also beregarded as an assembly of multiple devices and/or apparatuses, whetherfunctionally in cooperation with or independently of each other.Moreover, devices and apparatuses can be implemented in a distributedfashion throughout a system, so long as the functionality of the deviceor apparatus is preserved. Such and similar principles are considered asknown to a skilled person.

The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the disclosure.Various modifications and alterations to the described embodiments willbe apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the teachings herein.It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be ableto devise numerous systems, arrangements, and procedures which, althoughnot explicitly shown or described herein, embody the principles of thedisclosure and can be thus within the spirit and scope of thedisclosure. Various different exemplary embodiments can be used togetherwith one another, as well as interchangeably therewith, as should beunderstood by those having ordinary skill in the art. In addition,certain terms used in the present disclosure, including thespecification, drawings and claims thereof, can be used synonymously incertain instances, including, but not limited to, e.g., data andinformation. It should be understood that, while these words, and/orother words that can be synonymous to one another, can be usedsynonymously herein, that there can be instances when such words can beintended to not be used synonymously. Further, to the extent that theprior art knowledge has not been explicitly incorporated by referenceherein above, it is explicitly incorporated herein in its entirety. Allpublications referenced are incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: a plurality ofantennas; a plurality of conversion systems configured to at least oneof: accept one or more digital signals or produce one or more digitalsignals; a circuit configured to couple the antennas to the conversionsystems, wherein at least one of the antennas is coupled to more thanone of the conversion systems; and a computer arrangement configurableto selectively control an operation of the conversion systems accordingto one or more predetermined criteria.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein at least one of the predetermined criteria relates to energyconsumption of the apparatus.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thecircuit couples each of the plurality of antennas to each of theplurality of conversion systems.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein afirst one of the conversion systems is configured to utilize at leastone of a sampling rate or a quantization resolution that is differentthan at least one of a further sampling rate or a further quantizationresolution that a second one of the conversion systems is configured toutilize.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a first one of theconversion systems is configured to at least one of accept or produce afirst number of digital signals that is different than a second numberof digital signals that a second one of the conversion systems isconfigured to at least one of accept or produce.
 6. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein: the circuit comprises one or more splitters, theconversion systems comprise a plurality of receive conversion systems,and each of the receive conversion systems comprises one or moreanalog-to-digital converters.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: thecircuit comprises one or more combiners, the conversion systems comprisea plurality of transmit conversion systems, and each of the transmitconversion systems comprises one or more digital-to-analog converters.8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conversion systems comprise afirst and a second conversion system, and wherein the computerarrangement is configured to: selectively enable the first conversionsystem and selectively disable the second conversion system for a firstduration, and selectively disable the first conversion system andselectively enable the second conversion system for a second duration.9. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising a transceiving circuitconfigurable to at least one of receive or transmit at least one signalduring portions of one or more subframes having a predeterminedduration, wherein the computer arrangement is configured to determinethe first and second durations relative to a start of a subframe and aperiodicity of the first and second durations based on the subframeduration.
 10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein: the first conversionsystem is configured to at least one of accept or produce a singledigital signal comprising samples of a first resolution; and the secondconversion system is configured to at least one of accept or produce aplurality of digital signals comprising samples of a second resolutionthat is less than the first resolution.
 11. The apparatus of claim 8,wherein the computer arrangement is further configured to: detect aninterfering signal based on signals produced by the first conversionsystem during the first duration; and determine a desired signal basedon the detected interfering signal and the signals produced by thesecond conversion system during the second duration.
 12. The apparatusof claim 8, wherein the computer arrangement is configured to determinethe first and second durations and a periodicity of the first and seconddurations based on at least one of a predetermined schedule, a power orenergy of received signals, an availability of one or more referencesignals in the received signals, a channel coherence time, or an energyconsumption of the apparatus.
 13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: theconversion systems comprise a first and a second conversion system, thefirst conversion system comprises a first circuitry and a secondcircuitry, and the computer arrangement is further configured toselectively enable and disable the first circuitry independently fromthe second circuitry.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein thecomputer arrangement is further configured to determine whether toselectively enable and disable the first circuitry based on signalsproduced by the second conversion system.
 15. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein: at least one portion of the plurality of antennas isconfigurable as an antenna array, the circuit comprises a plurality ofadjustable controls of at least one of gain or phase, each adjustablecontrol being associated with an antenna comprising the antenna array,and the computer arrangement is configured to control the adjustablecontrols in association with selectively enabling a particular one ofthe conversions systems.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein thecomputer arrangement is further configured to: selectively enable firstand second ones of the conversion systems for a first duration, andconfigure the adjustable controls during the first duration to enable afirst one of the conversion systems to produce a signal corresponding toa signal incident on the antenna array from a first direction and toenable a second one of the conversion systems to produce a signalcorresponding to a signal incident on the antenna array from a seconddirection.
 17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the computerarrangement is further configured to: selectively enable first andsecond ones of the conversion systems for a first duration, andconfigure the adjustable controls to enable the antenna array totransmit first and second antenna signals in first and seconddirections, respectively, during the first duration, wherein: the firstdirection corresponds to a signal accepted by a first one of theconversion systems, the second direction corresponds to a signalaccepted by a second one of the conversion systems, and the first andsecond antenna signals comprise different modulation and coding rates.18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the plurality of antennas areconfigured as an array having a spatial resolution greater than aNyquist criterion; and the computer arrangement is configurable toselectively control the operation of the conversion systems according tothe spatial resolution and at least one of sampling rate, samplingresolution, and power consumption.
 19. A computer-implemented method foroperating first and second conversion systems, each conversion systemcoupled to a plurality of antennas, comprising: selectively enabling thefirst conversion system and selectively disabling the second conversionsystem for a first duration; selectively disabling the first conversionsystem and selectively enabling the second conversion system for asecond duration; detecting an interfering signal based on signalsproduced by the first conversion system during the first duration; anddetermining a desired signal based on the detected interfering signaland the signals produced by the second conversion system during thesecond duration.
 20. The computer-implemented method of claim 19,further comprising determining at least one of the first duration or thesecond duration based on predetermined characteristics of a subframe.21. A computer-implemented method for operating first and secondconversion systems, each conversion system coupled to a plurality ofantennas, comprising: selectively enabling the first conversion systemand selectively disabling the second conversion system for a firstduration; selectively disabling the first conversion system andselectively enabling the second conversion system for a second duration;configuring the first conversion system to produce a digital signalcomprising samples of a first resolution; and configuring the secondconversion system to produce a plurality of digital signals comprisingsamples of a second resolution less than the first resolution.
 22. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 21, further comprising determiningat least one of the first duration or the second duration based onpredetermined characteristics of a subframe.
 23. A non-transitory,computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions foroperation of first and second conversion systems, each conversion systemcoupled to a plurality of antennas, wherein execution of theinstructions causes a computer arrangement to: selectively enable thefirst conversion system and selectively disable the second conversionsystem for a first duration; selectively disable the first conversionsystem and selectively enable the second conversion system for a secondduration; detect an interfering signal based on signals produced by thefirst conversion system during the first duration; and determine adesired signal based on the detected interfering signal and the signalsproduced by the second conversion system during the second duration. 24.The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 23, furthercomprising determining at least one of the first duration or the secondduration based on predetermined characteristics of a subframe.
 25. Anon-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising computer-executableinstructions for operation of first and second conversion systems, eachconversion system coupled to a plurality of antennas, wherein executionof the instructions causes a computer arrangement to: selectively enablea first one of the conversion systems and selectively disable a secondone of the conversion systems for a first duration; selectively disablethe first conversion system and selectively enable the second conversionsystem for a second duration; configure the first conversion system toproduce a digital signal comprising samples of a first resolution; andconfigure the second conversion system to produce a plurality of digitalsignals comprising samples of a second resolution less than the firstresolution.
 26. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim25, further comprising determining at least one of the first duration orthe second duration based on predetermined characteristics of asubframe.